I Almost Lost You
by kandie rose
Summary: How can you tell your dad you’re already in love when he wants you to marry someone else?


Title: I Almost Lost You

Author: Kendall

Rating: FRT

Classification: Romance

Content Warning: A little coarse language, and a teensy bit of OOC-ness

Spoilers: None

Pairing: Carwash

Word Count:

Challenge Word:

Summary: How can you tell your dad you're already in love when he wants you to marry someone else?

A/N: I was watching a commercial and it came to me, but then it kinda changed, oh wow is this weird. Don't worry it won't be fluffy for that long :) BTW, I don't know if Calleigh ever dated a guy named Matthew but… oh well

Calleigh Duquesne sat in the ballistics lab flicking the edge of the table nervously. Her dad had told her he had a surprise waiting for her when he came to see her at seven. It was 6:50; she had never known her dad to be late when it came to her. She stood up and started walking back and forth across the room. She felt a pair of familiar warm arms wrap around her waist, feeling soft lips brush against her collarbone, moving up her neck. She felt herself being spun around, his warm lips moving across her cheek, finding her lips with his. Calleigh opened her eyes, staring into the face of Ryan. Her Ryan, her love. "Hey beautiful," He breathed into her neck, kissing her lightly just above her collarbone. "Hey babe," She giggled, and threw her arms around his neck, lifting his head slightly and placing a sweet kiss on his lips. "Hey, I heard your dad was visiting today, are you going to tell him about us yet?" Ryan asked, planting another kiss on her lips. Calleigh grabbed him by the shirt, pulling him toward the wall of the lab, "I've been thinking about it," She replied, "You know what, I think I will." Leaning against the wall, Calleigh pulled him to her, pecking his lips. "Mmmhh, Cal, stop teasing me like that," Ryan moaned, kissing her up her jaw line when she turned her head from him as he tried to capture her lips one last time. Taking her face in his hands, he took her lips with his passionately, pinning her to the wall. She smiled into the kiss, she loved when he did this, kissing her like he was afraid she would disappear if he didn't kiss her, didn't love her with all his heart.

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Drumming his fingers on the steering wheel, Kenwall 'Duke' Duquesne looked at the man sitting next to him, fidgeting with the black ring box in his hands. "Stop fidgeting Matthew, she'll be thrilled to see you!" Flipping the box open and shut with the tip of his thumb, "Yes, but what if she has a boyfriend, or what if she doesn't feel the same way about me anymore…" Matthew trailed off. Matthew and Calleigh had been dating in 10th grade, and he considered them to be in love, at that moment in time. What he knew was that he still loved her, he had always loved her, throughout all the years he had followed her just to see her smile and laugh. Recently she had been eating out and getting drinks with a single guy, instead of randomly going out with 3 men from her work, and he was jealous. Of all the years of tailing her he would have thought he would know who this guy was. He knew he was from work, he also knew that he didn't like the way he looked at her, and the way he rested his hand on the small of her back when they walked together. Matthew sighed and flicked the box open and shut feverishly. "Does she still love me… who was that guy… oh man, is this a good idea…" He muttered to himself, rubbing hid temple slowly.

Meanwhile…

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Ryan curled his fingers under the back of Calleigh tight pink tank top, her black jacket already discarded on a chair across the room. This was going way too far. "Mmmhh, Ryan, this is going way too far… we have to stop… we're still at work," Calleigh moaned in between kisses, "Ryan…" He moved his hands from the back of her shirt, slowly trailing them up her back, making her sigh and lean into him. "I guess you're right," He sighed, stroking her cheek with his thumb, "It was just getting interesting too," He smirked. Calleigh swatted his arm playfully, "Ryan Wolfe! I cannot believe you just said that!" She teased. "He smiled his adorable wry smile, "To be continued Miss Duquesne?" "To be continued Ryan… at my place?" He slid two fingers down her side, resting his hand on her waist, "Sounds good." "Ryan… just one more kiss," she sighed into his ear. He could have left her standing there wanting more and anxious for later tonight, but the truth was he wanted that one last kiss as much as she did…

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Pulling his car into the parking lot, Duke stopped his car, watching Matt vault out of it and take off at a run toward the building. "Heh, he really loves her, I hope I'm making the right choice," He muttered to himself in his thick southern drawl. Clicking open the seatbelt and popping open the door, Kenwall Duquesne walked toward the hardest conversation he would ever have with his daughter.

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Ryan was just helping Calleigh put her jacket back on when Duke and Matthew trotted into the room. Ryan squeezed her shoulder as if to say perfect timing. "Hello princess!" Duke pulled her into a hug. "Hi daddy, how are you?" she replied wrapping her arms around him in a quick hug. "I'm good, how are you?" He asked pulling away and holding her by her shoulders, taking in her new look. She had cut her hair shoulder length, with sweet side-sweep bangs. Straightening her shirt in front, backing towards the man standing a few steps behind her, "Who's that Cal?" Duke asked, pointing to the man his daughter was almost leaning against. "Oh, yeah, I almost forgot, Daddy this is Ryan, my colleague and friend… Daddy I have something to tell you, it's kind of important." "Hey Cal, can I tell you your surprise first?" When she nodded he continued, "Calleigh look who I ran into coming home from work today, it's Matthew Parkinson, you remember him! You two were so cute together!"

Calleigh's eyes widened at the man standing next to her father, he did look slightly familiar, a small gasp escaped her lips, and Ryan placed a hand on the small of her back. He could practically feel the glare this Matthew person was giving him, he just wanted to wrap his arms around Calleigh's waist and protect her from whoever this guy was, but he thought it would be a bad idea. Just having his hand on her would have to do… for now.

"Calleigh, Cal…" Matthew started, rubbing the back of his neck nervously, "Calleigh, I've loved you since the moment I met you in 10th grade, and I know you felt the same way about me, and… uh… Cal I still love you and uh…" He bent down on one knee, not seeing the horrified look on her face and the furious look on Ryan's face, "Cal will you marry me, please?" He asked snapping open the ring box, pushing it towards her. "Oh. My. God," she breathed horrified, her words being mistaken for joy. "So will ya Cal?" Duke asked hopefully. He longed to see his daughter truly happy. "Oh my god," Calleigh breathed again, but for different reasons. She felt Ryan's hand snaking above her backside and moving to wrap around her waist, "Calleigh darling, are you going to let your father do this?" Ryan breathed into her ear. She could hear the panic in his voice. A single tear escaped her eye, "Ryan, I have no choice, when Kenwall Duquesne wants something, he gets it." Ryan looked disappointed, shaking his head at her as he unwound his arm from the place it fit so perfectly, and walked out of the room, not even looking back.

A few more tears leaked from her green eyes. Everything was so perfect; just leave it to her past to come screw it up. It had been less than a minute, but she already missed the way he would hold her when she showed her weak side that she would show no one but him, she missed the way his arm wrapped around her waist whenever another man even looked at her, she missed _him._ She just couldn't take it anymore, she broke, crumpling to her knees and sobbing uncontrollably into her hands, she never cried like this before, on the rare occasion that she did cry it was only a few tears here and there. She just couldn't bear not feeling his arms around her comfortably, the way he cradled her after her dad was admitted into the hospital in critical condition after a DUI incident. "No, no, no… I need him," she mumbled almost incoherently between the sobs shaking her body.

"Calleigh, Cal its okay, shhh come here, let me hold you," Matthew said concerned, trying to pull her into a hug. She could do nothing but let him, still sobbing uncontrollably. Kneeling on the floor, he pulled her close to him, stroking her hair. "No, no, no, it was so perfect," she breathed, trying to pull away from Matt, but he wouldn't let her. "Come on Matt, we'll come back next week, she's in no way ready to make a decision so soon," Duke smiled at his prospective son in-law. "Okay, hey Cal, I'll be back next week, keep the ring until then," Matt pulled her up and slipped the small black box into her sweaty hand.

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Ryan watched it all from the window. He watched as Calleigh dropped to the floor, sobs shaking her body. He saw Matt gather her up in his arms like he used to and felt a pang of jealousy rising in his stomach. He watched him stroke her hair and found himself wishing it were he sitting crouched on the floor holding Calleigh. He almost couldn't bear it, watching the woman he loved in the arms of another man. He would have stood there all day scowling at the people sitting in the ballistics lab, but he just couldn't take it anymore when he saw Matt put a small ring box in the palm of Calleigh's dainty hand. He practically ran down the hall toward the locker room, hurling the small black box from his pocket into the back of his personal locker.

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Ryan couldn't sleep, _again_. Getting up to trudge into his kitchen to get a glass of water for the third time that night. It had been almost a week since his and Calleigh's unspoken break-up, and he had found he couldn't sleep without her warmth lying next to him when he slept. He had about 12 cups of coffee and 3 hours of sleep in the past 6 days. He sighed leaning back on, his counter and rubbing his bare chest with the palm of his hand. He missed her so much over the past week; he sometimes thought he could even hear her voice. God was she driving him crazy. Putting the coffee beans in the coffee maker, he trudged back to his room to get ready for the day; after all, he had to be at work in 45 minutes.

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Calleigh hadn't fared much better; she randomly started crying the day her father came to visit. Horatio had caught her crying multiple times and finally sent her home to get some rest, but she couldn't sleep. She missed the familiar warmth of Ryan arms around her when she lay in his bed to sleep. To top it all of, she couldn't find her key, hardly being in her apartment ever since her and Ryan kissed for the first time, instead spending all her time at his condo. She also rolled off of the bed 6 times that night; Ryan had kept her from tossing and turning at night, before him she had rolled off her small bed _at least_once every night. Hardly sleeping at all the last week, due to falling off the bed so much, she was always tired at work. Tomorrow would be no exception, picking herself up off the floor for the 5th time that night, she walked slowly into the kitchen and pulling an Ice Mountain water bottle out of the fridge, stepped out onto her balcony and looked up at the moon. She sighed and leaned into the railing, contemplating about how to tell Matt she wouldn't marry him, and how she would _hopefully_ make up with Ryan. Turning back toward her apartment and rubbing her eyes, she dragged her feet toward the shower; after all she had to be at work in half an hour.

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Calleigh pulled her car into the Miami Dade crime lab. Sighing heavily, she unclipped her seatbelt and pushed the door open. "This is going to be one of the hardest days of my life, isn't it?" She sighed to herself. "Well, might as well get in there and get this day over with."

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Ryan stood in front of the DnA lab with his forehead resting on the glass window. Just a moment before he had watched Valera process the blood from the new homicide case, but he was so tired. Having not had a good nights rest in a week, who could blame him. He was also thinking about when Matt came back to sweep his Calleigh off her feet. He imagined her jumping in to Matt's arms and kissing him when he came back to here her final answer. The thought made him sick to his stomach. He shoved his hand in his pocket and flicking the lid open and shut of the small black box resting in the palm of his hand. He had harbored the hope all week that she would deny Matt's marriage offer and he would be able to put the little black box he had purchased eight days ago to good use.

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Calleigh saw Ryan leaning against the glass of the DnA lab. She looked from side to side, checking for anyone in the halls around. "No one," she sighed happily, her and Ryan were completely alone in the long hallway. This might be her only chance before Matt got here to make up with him. Maybe he would give her one more chance, the love she had for him one more chance…

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Ryan pushed a finger on his ear. He had just heard his name. "Ryan…" The voice sounded like Calleigh's, but she hadn't spoken a word to him in the last week, what would make her start now. "Ryan… look at me," He heard the voice again, but this time he felt warm breath no the back of his neck. He couldn't deny the inevitable anymore and slowly turned around. As soon as he did he felt a pair of warm arms wrap around his waist, and soft, blonde hair tumble over his bare forearm. "Ryan… Ryan I'm so sorry… please… I don't love him…" She said into his shoulder. "I… I love you…" Calleigh breathed quietly. Up until now Ryan's arms lay limp at his sides, but he wrapped them tight around her back, pulling her closer to him. "Calleigh… oh I missed you, I love you so much…" He said raising her head, placing a sweet kiss on her lips. "Don't ever scare me like that again, I thought I lost you," He breathed against her lips, kissing her longingly. They loved the feeling of each others lips on their own so much they didn't even see the small crowd, made up of Eric, Valera, and Natalia, gathering at the end of the hall, in front of the elevator. "Aww, they are so cute," Valera sighed, "I wish I had something like that." She jumped, feeling a small pinch on her backside, "Oh but you do, Maxine," Eric breathed into her ear, making her giggle.

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Matt hummed along to the elevator music, riding up to the floor of the crime lab. He was extremely happy. Today was the day that Calleigh would say yes to his marriage proposal. Today was the day he would finally have his love in his arms again. Hearing the elevator doors open, Matt looked at the three people standing in the hallway puzzled. "What's going on here?" he asked, shouldering his way past and stopped in his tracks as he saw the woman he proposed to kissing another man. "Cal what are you doing?" He choked out.

Calleigh made to pull away and answer the person talking to her from the other side of the hall, but Ryan's arms never left her waist. Turning in his arms she looked at Matt, a flush showing on her cheeks seeing her colleagues standing at the end of the hall. Valera gave her a thumbs up, restoring her confidence. "Matt, I'm sorry I can't marry you, I love someone else," She said, placing her hand over Ryan's that was resting on her stomach. "But, Cal…" Matt started but felt his voice die in his throat as Ryan spun Calleigh around and bent down on his knee.

Fishing in his pocket, Ryan pulled out a small black box and flipped the lid open. "Calleigh Duquesne, will you do me the honor of being my wife?" He asked taking her hand and slipping the gorgeous blue diamond ring on her slender finger. "Yes, Ryan! Yes I will!" She cried, pulling him up and pushing her lips on his. "I was hoping you would say that," Ryan laughed against her lips. Hearing claps from down the hall; they turned and looked at their three friends. Valera had her head laid on Eric's shoulder, and Natalia was wiping tears from her eyes. Matt's lips quivered, he was close to tears. "Fuck you, Ryan Wolfe!" He yelled and pushed back toward the elevator, wiping a single tear from his cheek.

Calleigh raised her brows suggestively, flipping around in Ryan's arms, "I have no objection to that." "Mmmhh, neither do I," He said, pulling her with him towards the elevator and taking her lips with his.

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A/N: Heh heh, I'll let your imaginations wander again. I know it is a little OOC of Cal to be crying, but she had to cry sometimes :)


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